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Paul makes a huge decision about his future, informing Brady that Will has moved out — and he’s decided to leave Salem. “The last thing Paul wanted was for Will to stay with him out of obligation,” explains Paul’s portrayer, Christopher Sean. “Paul continued to ask for honesty, knowing the truth, though not wanting to believe it. So Paul finds a clinic that can help him walk again. It’s located in San Francisco near his mother. This, for him, is the perfect opportunity to kind of start over and give Sonny and Will the respect they need to get their relationship going again. So he’s just going to step aside and be around his mom.”
After the two brothers say their good-byes, John stops by to see Paul, having heard about his son’s breakup from Will. “For me, that was the most heartwrenching scene, Paul saying good-bye to his dad,” admits Sean. “It was a little realistic, where art meets reality, because I was saying good-bye as Paul to John, but truthfully, I was saying good-bye as Christopher to Drake [Hogestyn, John]. All of the dialogue that was used was legitimately how I felt about our relationship. He was a father to me. He took me under his wing. He was always there for me. For me to say how much I learned and grew with him in my life, that was great. It was really nice. Drake is one of those people that you never want to let go.”
The sad father/son goodbye is tempered by a possible bright spot. Paul tells his dad that he’s got a new physical therapist who’s both hunky and gay. “It may or may not help with Paul’s heartache,” notes Sean. “However, I don’t believe it will be a lifelong thing after just getting out of two deep relationships with Sonny and Will.”
As the unfortunate odd man out in the Will/sonny/paul triangle, Sean acknowledges that he often received sympathetic #poorpaul comments on Twitter from fans. “The fact
is, I got brought into a legendary storyline,” he reflects. “But the fans accepted the character, which is huge. And, in the end, everyone still cared about everyone. Paul loved Sonny, and he loved Will. There was no hostility. There was no bad blood. It was just, ‘Man, this sucks that this turned out the way it did, because we all really care about each other.’ ”
Yet Sean, for one, believes the storyline ended the way it should have — with Will free to possibly find his way back to Sonny. “It ended how it began, in the sense that the waters are still for the moment. It’s a perfect place for more conflict and catastrophe, and it’s very nice of them to let Paul leave on such a high note. And, at any moment, Paul can come back and do a cannonball and just ruin it all,” Sean adds with a laugh.
The actor admits that the decision to leave the show was “very difficult, because DAYS is my home. DAYS is my start. DAYS has been my family for four years.” So when his four-year contract with the soap was close to expiring, he had a lot to consider. “My manager and agent sat down with me and said, ‘It’s about that time. What do you think?’ ” recounts Sean. “We all agreed [that I should] try something new, try to take a bigger bite of the apple.”
So far, that “bite” includes a role in Disney Channel’s STAR WARS RESISTANCE series. “I’m the first Japanese-american lead in the Star Wars franchise,” he proudly notes. “It’s really amazing. I’m going to have an action figure, reading books for kids, a Star Wars land at Disneyland where I can bring my kids ... It’s pretty exciting to have Star Wars cushion my exit [from DAYS] and also provide the opportunity for me to jump onto another project, a new endeavor, something that’s challenging like DAYS, but in a different arena.”
Sean will long remember his final day of work on the soap. “On my last day of filming, I took my moment and I exited, and the entire cast and crew came out and gave a standing ovation for a paralyzed Paul,” he recalls. “Then, as Christopher, I got to stand up and embrace that moment, see everyone I worked with the last four years cheering me on, rather than sobbing. It was a wonderful moment of celebration and what we accomplished.”
Among the things Sean will miss about his DAYS experience is the character of Paul. “He was such a good person. He was so honorable. He always made the right choice. And even if he made a mistake, it was nothing disastrous.”
Sean insists that a return to DAYS, at some point, does remain a possibility. “Ken Corday [executive producer] was really kind,” the actor reports. “He said, ‘Christopher, the door will always be open for you.’ Bruce Evans [NBC exec] pulled me aside and said the same thing. Ken, Bruce, Drake Hogestyn ... They’re all just so cool and kind. I felt like I created a family where I could go out and try new things, but always come home.”
“DAYS is my home. DAYS is my start. DAYS has been my family for four years.”